Adam Carolla fights back against patent trolls

Perhaps the non-practicing entity (NPE) Personal Audio was looking to quietly reach a settlement with Adam Carolla’s ACE Broadcasting Network over patent podcasts. But then again, Personal Audio should have known that Adam Carolla never does anything quietly.

The media personality, who is known for “Loveline,” “The Man Show,” and many comedy outlets, has taken to the airwaves to combat patent trolls after he was sued over his self-owned podcast, “The Adam Carolla Show.” Carolla believes that a patent troll, Personal Audio, is looking to extort a number of high-profile podcasts, and he is organizing a fundraising campaign to raise legal funds to defeat the NPE in court.

“Normally, people settle up with these guys, because it’s so expensive to fight these guys in court,” Carolla said in a promotional video for his fundraising page. “Well, guess what? We’re going to circle the wagons, band together, and come out throwing punches.”

The patent in question was issued to Personal Audio in 2012. According to founder James Logan via The Economist, the patent covers “the production of serialised or episodic content that can be downloaded from a specific URL that client software can retrieve and store.” Personal Audio interprets this to mean most major podcasts; it has also sued NBC, CBS, Discovery Channel, and TogiEntertainment over popular podcasts.

However, the NPE may have met its match in Carolla. The podcast host said that he was asked for $3 million from Personal Audio, but he does not wish to settle. Instead, his fundraising campaign seeks to raise $1.5 million in legal fees. After launching the campaign in early March, Carolla has gained more than $188,000 in donations. He also is organizing a show starring himself, Jimmy Kimmel, Doug Benson, and others, titled “Show to benefit the legal defense of podcasting.”

“They're suing me, but they're coming after you next,” Carolla said. It’s a refrain that small businesses know all too well, as they continually search for a way to fight back against the growing patent troll issue.

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